Insanity's Love for Entertainment
by MrsJoshHutcherson112
Summary: When cousins clash and strange bets are placed, what could Insanity have in store for them? Many angry Cahills having 'fun' with cinnamon clouds, Minecraft, softball bats, and Warheads. Rated T for Turtlecorn babies. For Lovely SOS's Contest-Contest!


**A/N: Alright, let's get this show on the road...**

**So, this is for Lovely SOS's Contest-Contest. And...yeah.**

**I'm sorry about the length, but I really couldn't help it XD I got so caught up with it, things coming up in my head, and I'm like "Ooh! Yes! I HAVE to do that!" and it kinda just tumbled from there.**

**And thank you to her for giving me a time extension! I reeeeeally needed it, as you can probably tell. :P**

**Oh, yeah, and I kinda just have this weird mindset where I can totally see Amy playing softball. Well, just like I can picture Sinead playing the violin, but whatever. I'm insane, and I embrace it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The 39 Clues, the Janoskians/Legends Challenge, Minecraft, virtual reality, Warheads, Mario Kart, Polo Ralph Lauren, cinnamon clouds, or anything else I forgot to mention. Reader discretion is advised.**

* * *

**_~3:28 p.m.~_**

"What in the bloody hell are you watching?"

Dan looked up from his computer screen. "Huh?"

Natalie pointed at the monitor. "What are you watching?" she repeated, her nose wrinkled in disgust at the chaos on his laptop.

Dan laughed. "Oh. I'm watching the Janoskians."

Natalie tilted her head to the side. "The who?"

"The Janoskians!" Dan replied. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of them!"

Natalie shook her head, her gaze locked with the five boys heaving and throwing up in the video. "No. And I'm glad."

Dan's head shook in dismay. "They're like, legends. Hence the name of the challenge!"

Natalie's eyes squinted as she tried to read the video title. "The Legends Challenge?" She shuddered. "It looks horrid."

"That's what makes it awesome!" Dan said, pausing the video. "I've never met anybody brave enough to do it. Even I wouldn't try."

Now Natalie looked slightly intrigued. "Really?"

Dan shook his head furiously. "Nope. Not for the biggest pot of gold from the biggest rainbow guarded by the biggest leprechaun in the history of the world would I even consider doing something this gross."

Natalie raised an eyebrow, still looking at the screen, before her face morphed into one of her I'm-going-to-have-fun-making-somebody-suffer expressions. "Interesting..." she murmured, resting a hand on the desk. "Press play again. Start it from the beginning."

Dan shrugged, but moved the tiny arrow over to the play button on the screen and clicked the mouse.

As the video progressed, Dan could've sworn the gears in her head turned faster and faster by the second.

As soon as the last egg was thrown and the teenagers on the screen celebrated, Natalie straightened.

"Thank you for the entertainment," she said abruptly, "but I must be going. There's some business I need to tend to."

She spun on her heel and exited his bedroom.

Dan stared at the open doorway, sincerely hoping this was not going to turn out as some revenge plot against him.

He looked around his room, looking for something else to do, when he spotted his new pet turtle staring at him from its habitat.

Dan grinned. "Hey, buddy. You bored, too?"

If he actually thought the green amphibian nodded back at him, he must be crazy.

Dan lifted the lid to his prison of glass and pulled the small green animal out. He gently rubbed his finger across its head, as if petting it.

"It's okay," he crooned. "We'll be bored together."

Someone scoffed from the doorway. "Talking to something that doesn't even speak? Pathetic."

Dan looked up at the figure in the doorway, his eyes blazing. "Shut up, Cobra. Like you understand animals."

Ian raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed over his chest, and he smirked. "Are you some kind of whisperer?"

Dan shrugged nonchalantly. "Some might say that."

Ian laughed out loud. "Okay. I'll take your word for it."

Then his eyes landed on the open laptop. "What is that?"

Dan grumbled, "Are all Kabras the same?" but replied quickly, "That's the Legends Challenge. Yes, it's horrible. But it's amazing."

Ian took one look at the paused video feed and involuntarily shuddered. "Who would willingly do something like that? And is that colored vomit?"

Dan sighed, almost wistfully. "Yeah. Isn't it beautiful..."

Ian raised his eyebrows. "Beautiful? How can vomit be beautiful?"

"I mean...just look at that hi-def," he replied, grazing a finger across the screen. "And that quality video..."

"Are you in love with your computer or something?" Ian questioned, his expression plainly amused.

Dan snapped his attention back to the Lucian. "No. Not just my computer; I love all technology!"

Ian chuckled. "Right. You've proven that with all the video games you waste your time with."

Dan's jaw dropped. "Waste my time? That's probably the best way I could spend my time! But I guess you would never know," he commented, his tone turning snarky. "I bet you would rather listen to classical music than watch extreme snowboarding." Dan snickered like the idea was completely absurd.

Ian nodded. "Yes, I would."

Dan was taken by surprise. "Have you even watched TV for more than an hour in your whole life?"

Ian snorted. "I don't really believe you could go an hour without doing something like that."

Dan had to agree with him on that one. But he wouldn't admit that. Ian was trying to make it sound like television and video games were pointless.

This. Would. Not. Stand.

If he was trying to turn this into some sort of contest, though, Ian Kabra had another thing coming.

Now Dan crossed his arms, his stare defiant. "Excuse me? I've gone without TV before."

Ian matched his gaze. "Oh really? Then why would it be so hard for you to do it again?"

Dan narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "Is that a challenge?"

Ian shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"

At that moment, Ian's worst nightmare sauntered into the doorway.

"Mrrp."

Dan glanced at the cat for a second, then slowly grinned at Ian. The Lucian, who was supposed to be this macho man who lived without fear, was cowering against the wall, looking absolutely terrified.

Cats can smell fear, dude, Dan thought. Everyone knows that but you.

And he enjoyed the sight of Saladin lunging at Ian for a single warning scratch.

As the cat ran away, Ian hissed in air. A small line of blood was showing through the tear in his shirtsleeve.

Dan clapped. "Bravo. You handled that like a real man."

Ian glared. "Shut up. I could have avoided the attack, had the stupid animal not surprised me."

Dan laughed. "Oh, sure." Then his eyes lit up and his smile grew mischievous as the idea slowly took form in his brain.

"How about this," Dan began. "I go an hour without TV or computers or video games or anything... And you successfully defend yourself from Saladin for an hour."

"Absolutely not," Ian said immediately.

Dan snickered. "What? Afraid of a cat?"

Ian shook his head slowly and gave a short laugh. "No, Daniel. I am not afraid of an insignificant animal like your precious cat."

Dan shrugged. "Then why aren't you accepting? Are you too much of a coward?"

Ian bristled. Now he knew he would have to agree, if not to keep his reputation intact. He couldn't exactly have this boy running around, calling him a coward of all things.

So Ian grasped Dan's outstretched hand and shook it. "Deal."

But when he tried to pull his hand away, Dan gripped in tighter in an iron lock.

"And the winner gets to pick the punishment," Dan said quickly.

Ian ripped his hand away and cursed. He should have expected something like that.

**_~3:28 p.m.~_**

"Why did you do that?!"

"You just ruined our machine!"

"You just popped our soccer ball!"

"My helicopter!"

Reagan seethed and spoke through clenched teeth. "If you don't get us a new ball in the next five seconds, I swear..."

Her twin finished her sentence. "I will murder you. Both of you."

The Starling boys matched their hating eyes with glares of their own.

"And you had better fix our helicopter," Ned said.

"Or risk facing the worst of our inventions," Ted threatened.

Madison sneered and waved her hands in the air. "Ooh, scary."

"Do you know how long it took us to build this?" Ned said, holding the broken helicopter angrily in his hand.

Reagan laughed. "That piece of crap? Five minutes, tops."

Ned gritted his teeth. "Five _days_."

"It took you _days_ to finish that?" Madison snorted. "Weak."

Ted now held the deflated soccer ball in his grip. He scoffed. "Well, no matter how pitifully our time was spent, I'm sure you two Dolts could never do it faster."

Reagan and Madison simultaneously crossed their arms.

"Why would we want to?" Reagan challenged. "We would rather be scoring goals than arguing with you losers."

Ned laughed. "Anyone can kick a ball. But it takes real skill to invent genius." He and his brother slapped a high five.

"Well sure, anyone can kick a ball," Madison agreed. She stepped up to Ned, nose-to-nose. She jabbed a finger at him. "But it takes real skill to kick a ball _right_."

Ted chuckled and elbowed his triplet. "Girls. They'll never get it." Then he spoke to the Holt twins. "My brother and I probably have the least amount of athletic skill in the whole world," he started, "but even we would be able to kick a ball 'right'."

Reagan looked thoughtful, rubbing her chin. "Oh, really?"

Ned nodded. "Yes."

Reagan replied, "My sister and I probably have the least amount of technical skill in the whole world," she quoted, "but even we could build a dumb toy helicopter faster than you."

Ned fingered the contraption in his hands, turning it over in thought. He spoke slowly. "Well, why don't we just see about that? A bet, if you will."

His brother caught on immediately. "Oh, that would be a sight to see."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Madison inquired.

Ned shrugged his shoulders. "A contest. Ted and I bet that we can do something athletic, faster than you can do something technical."

Reagan and Madison took a few steps back and huddled together, whispering hurriedly. It took a few moments, but eventually they joined the two brothers again.

"Deal," Reagan said. "But it can't be as easy as kicking a ball or building a helicopter. That's lame."

"Yeah," her twin agreed. "How about we choose what the other team has to do?"

Ted blinked his unseeing eyes. "Fair enough."

The boys held out their hands to seal the deal.

Reagan grinned at Madison and they seemed to have the same idea at the same time. They both hocked a wad of spit into their hands and shook the boys' before they had time to react.

Ned recoiled immediately, wiping his palm on his polo shirt. "Gah! I have someone else's DNA all over me!"

"This is just barbaric!" Ted wiped his share of saliva on Ned's sleeve, at which his brother jumped back again.

"No, not on me!" Ned yelled furiously.

The girls laughed and waved at them. "See ya later, nerds. Prepare to lose!" they chorused before walking away.

**_~3:31 p.m.~_**

Amy was sitting in the library reading, a glass of lemonade in her hand. She was contently absorbing words from her worn copy of Pride and Prejudice when a loud bang startled her.

She cursed and looked down at herself. Jumping five feet in the air because of the noise had caused her to spill her drink all over herself, her book, and the white carpet.

"DIE, ZOMBIES, DIE!"

Amy could have gotten up and marched her way over to the game room, thrown the book at her brother, but she decided to keep calm and distract herself by cleaning up the mess.

As soon as she stood up, another boom rocked the house.

This time, she could actually feel the floor shaking, and her mask of faux nonchalance fell, replaced by pure anger. She fairly threw her book on the end table and ran to the game room, throwing the door open to scream at her brother.

But she was surprised to find that Dan wasn't even in the room. Her gaze landed on Hamilton Holt, who had what looked like a motorcycle helmet stuck on his head, and was swinging a giant plastic sword.

Amy placed her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"

Hamilton started spinning around after hearing her voice, waving the sword randomly. "Amy?" he called out, still stuck in his virtual reality. "Where are you? Did the zombies get you?" He looked around frantically, trying to find her in whatever game he was playing.

Amy gave an exasperated sigh. "Take off the helmet, Ham."

Hamilton stopped twirling and lifted the black visor up, allowing him to see the real world. "Oh," he said, giving a small, embarrassed wave. "Hello."

"What were you playing? Those noises shook the house!" Amy said, shaking her head. "And it made me spill my lemonade. My book is ruined."

Hamilton rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and that's when Amy noticed a destroyed game console and shattered flat screen, laying broken on the floor behind him.

Amy closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten. "Hamilton..."

The Holt cleared his throat. "I, uh...got caught up in it..."

Amy scoffed. "Yeah. I'll say." She walked over to the broken Xbox and picked up a wireless controller. "I'll never understand how anyone could be so obsessed with this...crap."

Hamilton looked so shocked at her statement, she thought he would drop the sword. His eyes were wide as saucers, as if he didn't know those words could ever be strung together into the same sentence. "Wh-what? You're kidding, right?"

Amy shook her head, not kidding at all. "Nope."

Hamilton looked around the room, as if searching the walls for an explanation to her madness. "How could you not like video games?"

Amy shrugged at him. "I don't know. I just never saw the point, I guess."

After a few seconds, Hamilton's expression grew smug. "Or maybe you're just jealous of us because you've got no skill whatsoever."

Amy smirked at him, feeling strangely like a Kabra by doing so. "No. I can assure you that I am not jealous in any way, shape, or form."

Hamilton grinned and folded his arms. "Denial doesn't suit you."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "And you're really bad at reading people."

Hamilton laughed. "Good one."

Amy rolled her eyes.

Hamilton thought for a moment. "I don't know...have you ever even tried playing a game? I mean, I'm, like, amazing, but I'm sure it couldn't be too hard to teach you without seeming like I'm bragging."

Oh, please, Amy thought. She crossed her arms and matched his gaze. "I've seen you play, Ham. And to be honest, you're not that good."

Hamilton gasped in a mocking way. He feigned hurt and shock by placing a hand over his heart and stumbling backwards, but the amused grin was unmistakable. "How _dare_ you deny the Master's skills?!"

Amy threw the broken-beyond-repair controller into the trash can, ignoring the arrogant Tomas.

But Hamilton was determined. "For your information, I've even beaten your brother at Mario Kart, much to his shock and surprise. He ranted to me for fifteen minutes about it."

"Beating Dan isn't very hard to do, though," Amy said. "I've won against him, too."

Ham's eyes grew wide. "You've played?"

Amy nodded. "I lost a bet to him, and his reward was to beat me at Mario Kart. I ended up winning and he left to go cry in a corner or something."

Hamilton laughed. "Now I kinda want to watch you play."

"Uh, nope, sorry," Amy said quickly, remembering the lemonade that was probably creating a nasty stain in the carpet as they spoke. She also remembered her own clothes, and looked down at her drink-covered self. "I have to clean up the mess that you caused."

As she tried to leave the room, Hamilton stopped her. "Wait! You haven't heard my idea yet."

Amy crossed her arms impatiently, waiting.

"I challenge you," he started, "to a video game war."

Amy smirked. "Mario Kart? Really?"

Ham shook his head. "No." Then he pointed to the virtual reality set-up in the middle of the room. "Minecraft. On survival mode. Level hard."

Now it was her turn to laugh out loud. "You can't be serious. Minecraft? How would that even work as a game war?"

Hamilton shrugged. "First one to die loses."

Amy thought for a minute. She'd been forced to play for a while once before by her brother. Is wasn't a bad game, but she would never waste her time playing it every day. And as long as she knew how to play, why not? All she had to do was outlast Hamilton.

Amy shrugged and shook his hand. "Deal. But after I clean up the spilled lemonade."

Hamilton nodded. "Okay. I'll be practicing."

He flipped down his visor and readied his sword. "Alright, creepers. Hit me with your best – No, not my house! I spent an hour on that! NO!"

Amy left the room before she could be whacked by a plastic weapon.

**_~3:35 p.m.~_**

Natalie had Jonah trapped; he was literally backed into a corner with no possibility of escape.

"I'm going to make this a bit easier for you," Natalie purred, her eyes glinting menacingly in the light.

Jonah gulped.

"You will apologize for tearing my outfit last week," Natalie said, "and you will do it in such a way that it will make me almost forget it never happened."

"I'm sorry!" Jonah exclaimed, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his head.

Natalie laughed. "No, you moron. Not like that. I meant you are going to feel the same pain I did as I watched my brand new dress be ripped by your stupid wireless microphone."

Jonah winced. "That was painful for you?"

Natalie waved it off. "Of course not. Metaphorically speaking, on my part. You, on the other hand, will most definitely experience physical pain."

Jonah exhaled in relief when she took a step backward, giving him a little breathing room.

"Okay," he said, fixing his shirt. "What're you going to make me do?"

Natalie shrugged, occupying herself by getting a glass of water. "I'm sure you've heard of the Legends Challenge, correct?"

Jonah paled immediately. He shook his head vigorously. "Oh no. There is no way you're making me do that."

Natalie chuckled. "Oh, isn't there?" She took a few steps towards him slowly, her lips turned up in a sly smile. "You wouldn't believe the massive amounts of blackmail material I have on you, Jonah Wizard. I can send it to the rest of our family with the click of a button, or the world, for that matter. What would be the best way, hm? The internet? Ah, but I can also beam it off of the _Gideon_, now couldn't I – "

"Alright, stop, I get it," Jonah said, hands up in surrender. "But...how does this count as a legit apology?"

Natalie flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked. "Why, personal entertainment, of course. There's nothing more satisfying than that."

Jonah nodded slowly. "Shouldn't I get something as like, a reward? Even I have to say, the Legends Challenge is pretty harsh punishment."

Natalie narrowed her eyes at him. "Why should you be rewarded for your stupidity?" Then she sighed after some thought. "Oh, all right. If you finish the Legends Challenge, you will not be punished further."

Jonah's eyes widened. "There's more?"

Natalie shrugged in response.

The rapper sighed. "And if I don't finish?"

Natalie grinned. "You are my personal servant for the rest of this reunion."

Jonah was about to protest, but something in the back of his mind told him that wouldn't be a good idea. So he kept his mouth shut and nearly ran out of the room.

"See you at 4:00!" Natalie called after him.

**_~3:35 p.m.~_**

Nellie whistled. "Nat is scary when she wants to be, huh?"

Sinead nodded in agreement. "I'm surprised Jonah got off so easily, actually. He'll totally be able to pull it off."

Nellie snorted, looked at the Ekat. "You kidding? He's gonna be caught up in slave labor before he even finishes the neon milk."

Sinead shrugged. "I think he could do it, if he tried."

"Well, what about Ham and Amy?" Nellie asked, pointing to the third screen.

Sinead raised an eyebrow. "Hamilton. Definitely."

"I don't think so," Nellie said. "Amy can be pretty badass at video games when she's motivated."

"And Ian and Dan?" Sinead wondered, staring at screen 2.

Nellie laughed. "They'll probably both lose, but I'm going with Dan. Saladin can't be beaten, even by a Kabra."

"Agreed," Sinead replied with a laugh. "I won't bet against you on that one."

Nellie sighed, putting her elbow on the computer table and resting her chin in her palm. "We might as well make it an official bet. Everyone else is."

Sinead exhaled. "Sure. Who do you say will win?"

Nellie lifted a corner of her mouth in a side smile. "I'll bet you 500 bucks that Dan, Natalie, and Amy will win their respective bets." She stuck out a hand.

"And I bet you 500 bucks that Jonah, Hamilton, and Saladin will win theirs."

But before Sinead could grasp Nellie's hand, the 22 year old ripped her hand away.

"Saladin?" she questioned.

Sinead shook her head. "I have no faith in Ian whatsoever."

Nellie smirked then and shook the Starling's hand. "Deal."

**_~4:06 p.m.~_**

"Stop MOCKING ME!" Dan yelled.

"Is it honestly this hard for you?" came a voice from the doorway.

Dan looked up from the phone that lay on the table and glared at Ian. "You don't know my life," he said.

Then he took a good look at the older Kabra...and burst out laughing. "What the heck are you WEARING?" he choked.

Ian looked down at himself for a quick once-over, then crossed his arms. "I don't see a problem."

Dan snickered. "Amy's gonna be pissed that you stole her softball gear."

Ian tapped the batting helmet. "What, this? She won't even know it's gone."

"Dan, I need to borrow your - Ian, what are you doing with my bat?"

Both boys faced the kitchen doorway, where Amy was staring at Ian with accusing eyes.

"Um...I, uh..." Ian stammered, hefting the softball bat in both hands. He looked down at the purple potential-defensive weapon and back at its owner. "I am at war, Amy."

Amy raised an eyebrow, then shook her head, holding up a hand. "You now what, never mind. I don't need to know." She turned to her brother. "I need your pick axe."

Dan jumped out of his seat. "What do you need my pick axe for?"

Amy sighed, as if she was already tired of explaining. "Hamilton and I are having a contest to see who lasts longest in virtual Minecraft on hard level. Now, can I borrow it?"

Dan sighed. "It's in my room; second shelf in my closet."

"Thanks." She took one last look at Ian and smirked. "And by the way Ian, you will NOT hit my cat with a softball bat."

Ian gave a drawn-out sigh and handed the bat to her. She took it, but also pulled the helmet off of his head.

"But I need that!" Ian protested.

"What you need is a big, empty room with padded walls and a cushioned floor," Dan put in.

"Did I ask for your opinion, Daniel?" Ian growled.

"Yes."

Ian scowled at him.

"I'm leaving now," Amy announced, taking a few steps backwards. "I have a game to win."

**_~4:12 p.m.~_**

Jonah looked down at the pile of hell with uncertainty.

"How am I gonna live through this, Lil' K?"

Natalie placed her hands on her hips. "What did you call me?"

"Your new nickname," Jonah replied. Upon seeing her expression of building anger, he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. "Uh, never mind."

"You will never even _think_ about calling me that again, do you understand?" she said, glaring.

Jonah gulped. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Natalie pulled out a stopwatch. "I've decided to add a time limit."

"What?" Jonah nearly squeaked. "But that's not how it works!"

"Well, just like microphones aren't used for dress cutting," Natalie said simply. "That's not how they work, either."

Jonah huffed. "Fine. How much time do I got?"

Natalie hit a few buttons, resetting the device. She thought for a second. "Thirty minutes," she decided, and at Jonah's horrified face, she continued with, "and you have to consume every drop of milk in that jug. Are you aware of the rules?"

Jonah exhaled impatiently and started listing off of his fingers. "Drink the milk, choke down the cinnamon, eat the peppers, finish 15 Warheads, and stick my hand in the mousetrap when I'm done."

"_If_ you get done," Natalie corrected. She readied the stopwatch. "Ready?"

Jonah nodded.

"Get set..."

He wiped the nervous sweat off his palms.

"Go."

He shoved the four hot peppers in his mouth at once, his throat immediately catching fire. His eyes started to leak from the heat and he leaned over the ground, nearly dry-heaving.

Natalie checked the watch. "Fifteen seconds, and you're already going to throw up? Really, Jonah, this is pathetic."

Jonah stood up straighter, inhaling through his teeth to cool his mouth. He unscrewed the milk cap and started chugging.

Natalie smiled. This would be interesting.

**_~4:14 p.m.~_**

Hamilton shoved a helmet into her arms. "You ready to lose?" he asked, showing his white teeth.

Amy pulled it over her head, lifted the visor up. She grinned. "Not to you."

"Touché." Hamilton pushed a few buttons on a remote and set it back down. He hefted his sword, double-checking that his weapons and tools were in line in front of his feet. "In five...four...three...two..."

"One," Amy replied, snapping her visor down and twirling her sword.

Instantly, her vision was filled with blocks and blocks of sand and cacti.

"I spawned in a desert?" she said aloud.

Amy could almost feel Hamilton smirking a few feet away from her. "I appeared in a jungle."

She gritted her teeth and started walking in place, her character running past the barren land. "That's not fair."

Hamilton laughed.

She caught a glimpse of snow in the distance and was a little bit relieved. At least she would have wood.

It took about thirty seconds for her to reach the nearest tree. She bent down, picked up the axe she'd borrowed from Dan, and started whacking the air. The slight breeze in the room let her know that Ham was doing the same thing; probably to a jungle tree.

The sky began turning dark.

What? she thought. Already?

She quickly built a crafting table and set it on the ground. She traded her axe for a shovel and started digging into the pixilated earth.

Amy jumped, though, when she felt something hit her from behind. She collapsed to the floor from the force of the blow, catching her fall with her hands.

"What the hell was that?" she breathed.

"I don't know!" Hamilton replied. "I can't see you."

Just as she was getting up, something hit her again, and she hit her elbow on the floor. "Ow!"

This time, she stood up with inhumane speed and whipped around. There, standing in front of her, was a gross, bloody zombie.

She almost shrieked. It looked so life-like in the virtual reality version.

The zombie advanced, but she switched out her spade for the sword and slashed the air. The zombie flashed red.

She hit it again. It hardly made an impact. What was this thing made out of? Foam?

Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw two creepers and a skeleton trying to sneak up on her.

Was this it? Was she going to die so soon?

"Why does it actually hurt when they hit me?" she nearly yelled at Hamilton, swinging her sword around.

"That happens in Hard mode," he replied. "It puts real pain into the game. But don't worry. You won't actually die when your character gets killed."

"Oh, _that's_ reassuring."

Hamilton lifted his visor, peeking at her. She was swinging the sword wildly; a determined expression was on her face, but also a hint of worry. He sighed quietly and put his visor back down, the interior of his tree house filling his sight.

He moved over to the door and opened it, moving onto the balcony. He shut the door behind him.

The tundra was right next to his biome, about one hundred blocks away.

He shook his head at what he was about to do.

Hamilton climbed down the ladder, touching the ground five seconds later. Then he started running along the edge of the snowy area. Amy wouldn't be in the middle. She would have started cutting down trees as soon as she saw one, on the edge.

Eventually, he saw her username through the trees, and her character came into focus. She was completely surrounded by mobs, fighting desperately for her life.

He sped up and slashed through the nearest zombie with his sword. If poofed away, leaving two shining XP in its place.

His diamond sword cut through the remaining creepers and skeletons and spiders like butter.

He turned to Amy's character. "Just so you know, wooden swords suck."

"I've recently found that out. Thanks," she replied, though he couldn't see her.

"Welcome. But that's the only time I'm coming to your rescue, noob," Hamilton said with a laugh. "The next time your skin's in danger, don't expect me to help."

Amy laughed with him. "Hopefully by then, I'll have a better sword."

**_~4:17 p.m.~_**

"AMY! HE CHEATED!" Nellie wanted to scream. But she knew that if she did, it would influence the whole thing, and it would eventually get around to Sinead that _she_ was the influencer.

But she needed a way to tell Amy in a non-obvious way. Some way to let her know without tipping off anyone else...

She ran out of the CC door and down the hall, bursting into Dan's bedroom without knocking.

Dan was staring longingly at his blank computer screen, his face scrunched up in a pained expression.

He looked up at his legal guardian. "I don't think I can do it, Nellie. I just...I...It's _killing_ me!"

"Suck it up, kiddo," she said quickly. "It's not like the computer's going anywhere."

Dan perked up immediately. "You're right!"

"I'm always right." Nellie waved it off. "But I need your help."

Dan spun to face her in his swivel chair. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I need a way to let Amy know that Hamilton's cheating on their game without letting Ham know," Nellie said. "And I need to do it quick, or I lose _my_ bet with Sinead."

"Hmm..." Dan said thoughtfully, looking around the room for anything useful. "Let's go ask Ned and Ted. They'll know what to do."

So the two Madrigals ran out of the house to the backyard, where a peculiar sight met their eyes.

"Uh," Dan started, "what are you two doing?"

Ned doubled over, panting, but he replied, "Ted and I have a bet with the Holt sisters."

"And we're gearing up for whatever they've got in store for us," Ted supplied, plopping down cross-legged on the ground. "We have exactly nine minutes before the contest begins."

"Then why are you wasting your energy?" Nellie wondered.

Ned shrugged and changed the subject. "Anyway, what do you two want?"

"We need a secretive way to tell Amy that Hamilton is cheating on their game," Dan supplied.

Ted put a finger to his chin in a thoughtful way. Then he pulled his laptop off of a nearby bench. "Do you want to send some sort of message to her?"

Nellie thought for a moment. "Yeah. Whatever."

Ted started typing. "It will take a few seconds, but a short message should appear on Amy's virtual reality screen. She won't be uninformed for long."

Wow, Nellie thought. That was easy.

"Thanks, guys," she said. Then she looked at Dan. "Come on, little dude. We've got to help you win your bet against Cobra."

**_~4:26 p.m.~_**

Ian was cornered. By a cat in a rage.

He shouldn't have taunted it. He should have left the Russian caviar in the cabinet, where it belongs.

Now he was cowering between the oven and the kitchen sink, wondering if he was even going to come out of this attack alive.

"Now, now," he said cautiously, holding up his hands in surrender. "There's no need for violence..."

The cat hissed. Ian jumped.

"Let me just..." Ian took a tiny step to his left. "Get around you...No...Saladin, don't you _dare_ – AH!"

He raised his arms in a defensive position just as the cat's claws sunk into his skin. Then it fell back to the ground, landing on its feet, looking quite satisfied.

Ian bit back a yell of pain. Saladin had reopened his previous wounds from earlier in the day, and now they burned like fire.

Ian glared at the cat through narrowed eyes, baring his teeth at the creature. "Come at me."

The cat lunged. Ian batted him away, sending him back to the floor.

Saladin landed on his feet again. His eyes gleamed with hatred.

Ian's expression was nearly identical.

Ian let out a battle cry and pounced at the Egyptian Mau, but the cat was too quick. Saladin jumped at the last second and as Ian hit the tiled floor with a _thud_, he landed on his back and began tearing at his clothes.

Ian screamed as the claws scratched his bare back, and he flipped over, shoving the cat off of him. He jumped to his feet, his skin searing with pain.

At that moment, Ian Kabra committed the greatest act of bravery the Earth has ever known, an act of courage and valor unmatched in the mortal world...

He turned and fled.

His shoes hit the grass, and he scanned his surroundings, looking for a place to hide. The woods, maybe? No. The cat would most definitely sniff him out and murder him within ten minutes.

He stubbed his toes on something hard and he sprawled on the ground, nearly eating the lawn.

Ian pushed himself up, spluttering. He looked up at the laughing faces of Madison and Reagan Holt.

Then he looked around. He was surrounded by random objects.

"What are you two doing?" he questioned, lifting a bowling ball off the ground. "And what is all of this for?"

"We're building an obstacle course," Reagan replied. "For Ned and Ted."

"Why would Ned and Ted need an obstacle course?" Ian looked warily behind him, making sure that Saladin wasn't charging across the yard in full battle armor or anything.

"We bet them that they couldn't do something physical faster than we could do something nerdy," Madison supplied. "And we're gonna make sure they lose."

"Ah," Ian said. "Well, good luck with that."

**_~4:37 p.m.~_**

"You're twenty three minutes in, Jonah," Natalie informed. "Keep it up and you might actually not end up as my slave after all."

Jonah picked up his eighth Warhead and looked up at her with blazing eyes. He broke the wrapper and threw it on the ground, popping the candy in his mouth. His eyes squeezed shut at the sour flavor and exhaled. "You're evil."

Natalie flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "I try."

At that moment, Sinead Starling shot around the corner and stopped in her tracks, taking deep breaths.

"Sinead?" Jonah questioned, startled.

"Jonah," she puffed. "You can do this. Come on, only seven more Warheads and your packet of cinnamon. Don't give in."

The candy burned his tongue. Jonah looked down at what was left of the challenge and gulped. He realized he hadn't saved any of the milk for the cinnamon, and that he wasn't even halfway done with the Warheads.

And then a rebellious fire sparked inside of him, and it wasn't from the fire caused by the acid in the candy. He stood up from his spot on the ground, spitting out the Warhead. He glared at Natalie.

"I don't need this!" he shouted, pointing down at the littered concrete. "And I don't care if I'm your slave for the rest of my _life_, but I am NOT doing it! I'm not finishing. I quit."

Natalie's jaw dropped and so did Sinead's.

Sinead stepped forward, frantically attempting to get him to change his mind. "No, no, Jonah! You _have_ to keep going! Can't you see, this is what she wants!"

"What?" Natalie said, crossing her arms. "This isn't what I wanted! I wanted to see him suffer by cinnamon and chili peppers. I don't care about personal servantry. That was just something I made up as incentive."

Jonah perked up a bit. "So I don't have to wait on you hand and foot for a week?"

Natalie held up a finger. "I didn't say that."

His shoulders slumped.

"B-But, he can't just stop like that, can he?" Sinead asked. "He has to finish!"

Both of them put their hands on their hips.

"And why would that be, Sinead?" Natalie inquired, her tone accusing.

"Um...I..."

Sinead turned tail and ran off, back through the mansion's back door.

"Hmph," Jonah said, squatting on the ground. He picked up the packet of cinnamon, turned it over in his hand.

Well, I might as well get the most out of it, he thought.

Jonah tore open the packet and waved it around, the cinnamon catching in the breeze and blowing around all over the place.

Natalie screamed when the wind carried it over to her, dusting her clothes in a fine layer of spice.

Jonah froze, the last of the cinnamon dumping out into the air. The cloud drifted lazily across the yard.

Natalie's amber eyes looked like fire to him, and he gulped.

**_~4:40 p.m.~_**

Ted gripped his brother's shoulder tighter, flinching as a tree branch brushed his cheek.

"I can't believe we agreed to this," Ned grumbled, shoving his way through the forest, brambles and sticker bushes scraping against his legs.

Ted nodded in agreement.

Then Ned smirked. "But I'm sure the Holts are having a far harder time following those blueprints than we are, picking our way through their stupid obstacle course."

"They probably have no clue as to what they're even building, I bet," Ted said, stumbling over a root.

Ned caught his arm before he fell and wrestled his way through a bush. And at last he saw the light. "Ted," he whispered, "we've made it to the end."

After rushing through the military-style first part of the course (tires, climbing walls, the whole bit), the swim across the pond, and cutting their way through a fenced-off path in the woods (something they assumed to be an already-constructed trail put in by the Cahill siblings), they had finally made it to the end of the course.

And Ned's expression dropped. "Aw, come on!"

They were in the middle of a clearing; _that_ he could tell. But the other details, he had no chance of piecing together.

"They really spent some time on this, didn't they," Ted said. "I can hear the wind being blocked by something huge."

Ned nodded dumbly. "Something huge indeed, brother. Something huge indeed..."

The two geniuses stood in front of a seven-feet-tall wall with a single doorway in front of them.

"It's a maze," Ned announced with realization. "The last part of the course is a maze."

"Well, let's not stand here," Ted said, stepping forward to push the door open. "I don't even know how long it's been since we started."

As soon as Ted's hand touched the door, it swung open easily.

"See?" he said. "No problem."

As they walked through the maze, with walls of plywood constructed to block their sight, Ned couldn't help but be a little awed. How had the two girls managed to build something so big?

But just as the two had turned a corner, Ned's eyes widened.

That was a mistake.

"OW!" he shouted, squeezing his eyes shut. "It burns! And I can't see!"

Ted was holding his face alongside him. "Don't inhale!"

They stumbled through the cloud of God-knows-what, turning corners blindly, hoping against hope they would come out at the end soon.

A few minutes later, they emerged through the other side of the cloud.

Ned coughed. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Ted rasped. "But it smelled strangely like cinnamon."

"I still can't see," Ned complained. "I think I'm temporarily blinded."

"Oh, great," Ted said. "Now neither of us can see."

"Just walk," Ned instructed. "We'll get out eventually."

And as soon as they stepped forward, they fell into a giant ten-foot hole.

**_~4:44 p.m.~_**

That cheating jerk.

No wonder he'd managed to get such good stuff so fast!

Hamilton had, as far as she knew, a full set of diamond armor, enchanted diamond tools and weapons, a collection of connected tree houses that took up nearly half of the jungle biome, a huge mine and mine cart system underground, and an entire room of his house filled with nothing but food. The walls were literally made out of melons, for crying out loud.

And all she had was a measly chest of food, crappy leather armor, crappy stone tools and weapons, and her house was five blocks by five blocks by five blocks big. Made out of wood.

So her only mission was to get revenge. Give him a taste of his own medicine.

She'd taken the liberty of getting a mod.

Mods were fun little tools used to 'help' you in the game. There were the practical mods, the stupid mods, and the mods that were just so much fun to play around with.

She had one of the latter.

The mod Amy had secretly downloaded gave her an unlimited supply of fun explosive devices.

How exciting.

It took all her willpower not to laugh out loud as she stood outside of Hamilton's beautiful tree house system in the jungle. A little pond rested to the left. The ocean sparkled on the right, the sun rising slowly into the sky.

It was a lovely day for blowing things up.

Amy climbed up a ladder, making sure Hamilton wasn't around. She lifted herself onto the balcony and realized she was in the food wing. What a good place to start!

She pulled out an inverter bomb and set it in the middle of the floor. She put down a redstone torch and jumped out the door.

Amy ran a good few hundred feet and turned back to look at her creation.

Blocks of wood and melons were flying up into the air, spinning as they went. Some random blocks of sand fell back to the ground.

A few seconds later and a pretty little island of mix-matched blocks formed a tiny island in the sky.

Amy laughed inside. Hamilton was standing right next to her freaking out, with no idea it was her.

She quietly changed her game mode to creative. Now she could fly and not get hurt by the destruction of his home in the trees.

On another building, she set up a butt-ton of TNT. One redstone torch was all it took for the whole thing to explode.

By now, Hamilton was screaming his lungs out, frantically trying to save his stuff.

Amy switched back to survival mode and pulled out a special gun. She shot the rest of his network from the ground, watching in delight as Hamilton also died in the mess.

Hamilton yelled in frustration, throwing his sword on the ground.

Amy pulled off her helmet, now laughing out loud. "I believe the bet was whoever died first loses." She gave a triumphant smile. "And now, I get to decide your punishment."

Hamilton's eyes blazed with fury. "You cheated," he accused. "Mods are against the rules."

Amy rebutted with a sarcastic tone of voice. "Ah, but you were cheating long before I was. Why would you stick us into your already saved world, where you clearly had an advantage?"

Hamilton found his voice. "...How did you find out?"

Amy shrugged. "I'm just smart like that."

Just then, screaming could be heard in the halls, along with fast footsteps. Someone was chasing someone else through the house.

Jonah Wizard appeared, breathless, running through the game room like an antelope chased by a lion.

His eyes were filled with alarm. "The She-Devil's after me!"

"YOU RUINED MY OUTFIT! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Jonah squeaked and ran through the room, tripping over cords in the process.

"No! Jonah, that's going to – "

Amy was cut off by the lights shutting off and all technology in the house powering down.

When the backup generators kicked in, an angry Natalie Kabra was pinning Jonah to the wall, her dart gun pressed up to his neck.

Hamilton stepped forward and peeled the angry Lucian away from the panicking Wizard, the girl spewing insults and death threats at whoever she could.

"Put me down, you caveman!" Natalie shrieked.

Hamilton set her down, and Natalie stormed out of the room, fuming.

**_~4:56 p.m.~_**

"Ugh! Why can't this thing just _go in_, already!" Madison shouted in frustration.

Reagan took the cords away from her. "It doesn't work like that, butt-brain! You have to wait until we put this thingy in the box."

"What is this thing even supposed to do?" her twin wailed. "I'm so confused!"

Reagan threw down the wire she was holding and stomped on it. "Forget this! I'm done. Ned and Ted can bask in their eternal glory or whatever."

As they trudged up towards the house, they were almost mowed over by a screaming Ian Kabra.

"He's chasing me!" Ian yelled. "That bloody beast is trying to kill me!"

"Hey, watch where you're going, Cobra," Madison shouted. "This is an expensive track suit!"

Madison was mad at Ian, but only until she felt the legs of her pants being ripped.

"What the – " She looked down to see green eyes staring back at her from a foot off the ground. She gritted her teeth. "You stupid cat!"

Madison lunged, trying to scoop up the animal, but Saladin raced after Ian.

Madison stood up from the ground, wiping the dirt off her jacket, muttering things about dumb animals.

"Dude," Reagan smirked, "you sounded like Nat, talking about your expensive track suit."

Madison punched her sister. "Shut up."

**_~4:58 p.m.~_**

Jonah rounded the corner, finally breathing out of relief rather than panic. Or so he thought.

He dropped his water bottle.

Natalie smiled sweetly at him. "I do believe you have forgotten what happens to the losers of the challenge at the end of the video, Jonah."

His eyes dropped to her hands, which were holding a carton of eggs.

Uh oh, he thought. This is just not your day, dude.

Natalie pointed behind him. "Face the wall and meet your fate."

Jonah backed up until his feet hit the wall and he covered himself, bracing for the impact.

Then he heard whoops of achievement coming from the other side of the house.

Natalie squinted. "Is that Daniel?"

Dan ran up to them, his fists raised in the air.

"I did it!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down with a bright grin on his face. "I beat the technology!"

Natalie and Jonah both raised an eyebrow.

"I went an hour without games or YouTube or _anything_!" Dan explained, running around in victory circles. "Nat, toss me an egg!"

Natalie threw an egg to him, and once he caught it, he hurled it at Jonah.

"Whoa!" Jonah said, ducking as the egg splattered above his head. "What was that for, dawg?"

Dan was still bouncing. "I just had to. I'm releasing some pent-up energy."

Ian appeared suddenly, bloody and his clothes torn.

Natalie gasped. "What happened to you?"

Ian looked at her, then glared at Dan. "Just remind me never to make a bet with him again."

"Ooh! I get to pick your punishment!" Dan remembered. "Um..." He thought for a moment, then his smile brightened. "Stand next to Jonah, Cobra."

Ian looked confused, but sulked over in front of the wall of the mansion.

Reagan and Madison bounced up next to Dan and Natalie. "Whatcha guys doin'?" they asked.

"We're about to pelt the losers in gooey shame," Dan explained, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Awesome! Can we join?" Madison asked.

"Sure!" Natalie said brightly, handing them each an egg carton from her wheelbarrow.

"Not so fast!" came two voices from behind them.

The Holts froze while Dan and Natalie turned around. Ian and Jonah laughed.

Ned and Ted Starling trudged up the hill, angry expressions on their faces. Their clothes were wet and caked with mud, and they were strangely barefoot. Their auburn hair stuck up at weird angles, and their faces were streaked with blood and dirt. They were both panting.

"We beat the challenge," Ned said, glaring at the Holt sisters' heads. "And I see you didn't complete yours."

Reagan and Madison turned around.

The boys grinned menacingly at them. "We pick your punishment, and we think eggs are quite fun."

Dan recoiled. "...It's creepy how you said that at the exact same time..."

Natalie snatched the girls' cartons away and handed them to the Starlings, shoving them toward the wall of shame.

All eight of them looked up at the sound of a window opening.

Amy and Hamilton looked down at them from two stories up.

Amy waved. "Hey, guys. What are you doing?"

Natalie gestured to the four cousins against the wall. "We're participating in an egg-throwing competition for the loser's circle. Care to join?"

Hamilton cursed when Amy's face lit up. She shoved him back into the room. "I choose that! Move it, cheater."

Natalie clapped and smiled. "Oh, how fun this is!"

Nellie and Sinead followed Amy and Hamilton out the door, conversing and laughing.

As soon as they reached the others, their expressions took on amused looks.

"What's all this?" Nellie asked, gesturing at the angry teens against the wall.

Natalie waved her hand at them. "These are the losers, my dear Nora."

Nellie didn't bother correcting the girl. Then she counted how many of her people lost. Then she turned to Sinead, her hand out. "Pay up, Starling."

Sinead slapped five hundred-dollar bills into her hand. "There goes my new combustion engine," she said jokingly.

"Um..." Nellie started. "I think you should go join them."

Sinead looked at the losers. "Why?"

Nellie giggled. "'Cause you lost. And I'll gladly refund your money if I get to throw eggs at you. That sounds so much better than money."

Sinead sighed, but decided she needed her money more than her clothes. "Fine."

And finally, the losers circle was complete.

Natalie and the other winners readied their eggs. "Ready," she started.

"Aim," Dan said.

"_Fire_!" Ned and Ted said.

The six on the wall cowardly turned around, hiding their faces in their arms as the eggs splattered around them, crashing against the wall or stinging as they hit their bodies.

The winners were _definitely_ having more fun. Most of the eggs hit their marks, whether it be on the wall next to the others' faces to embed the insides in their hair, or just to purposefully hurt their targets.

It turns out, Natalie had nine more cartons of eggs in that wheelbarrow, and if Fiske Cahill hadn't shown up, they would have used them all for that purpose.

His arms crossed. "What's going on?"

He never got an answer. All twelve Cahills bolted.

Phoenix Wizard showed up next to him, grinning triumphantly with his hand held out.

Fiske sighed, digging through his pockets for his wallet and slapping a hundred into the young boy's hand. "There. I guess you were right. They _did_ cause chaos while I was gone."

Phoenix laughed. "And I got to watch it all from the Command Center security system."

Fiske chuckled. "I'll bet that was fun. But maybe _you_ could explain to me what happened?"

The eldest and youngest Cahill went back into the house, discussing the day's happenings as if they'd been there the whole time.

**_~Three days later...~_**

Jonah took one more step and collapsed onto the pavement.

Natalie crossed her arms at the sweating boy in front of her, glaring at his rumpled form. "Oh, please, Jonah. I am not that heavy."

Jonah breathed. "You are when... I have to... wheel you around for hours."

Natalie tapped the armrest impatiently with a manicured finger. "Get up! We still have four more stores to hit!"

Jonah slowly stood up, rubbing his sore back. He wished he would have just finished the Warheads and cinnamon and been done with it.

"Yes, m'lady," Jonah replied, flinching at what he had to call her from now on."

Natalie put on her sunglasses and settled back into the cushioned seat. "Now, mush."

Jonah picked up the two wooden poles and heaved himself forward. The two-wheeled cart slowly started rolling and he trudged on, dragging her shaded pull-cart along the sidewalk in front of the shopping complex.

"Where are we going next?"

"Polo Ralph Lauren," Natalie replied, rearranging her many shopping bags in the cart. "I have to pick up Ian some new shirts."

"As you wish," Jonah cringed, "M'lady."

Natalie smiled smugly from her seat. Sometimes, reunions weren't so bad.

* * *

**Anyway, I hope that made up for the length somewhat XD**

**Read, Review, Favorite, Flame it, Do whatever. Just don't do the Legends Challenge. Seriously. That's a bad thing to do to yourself (But it's kinda funny to watch... XD).**

**AND I DIDN'T WANT BITS OF THAT TO TURN OUT HAMY-ISH BECAUSE I HATE THAT PAIRING WITH ALL MY HEART, BUT IT JUST, AND I JUST, AND AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...**

**Hope you enjoyed my insanity! :P**

**~Callie~**

**P.S. You can't imagine how fun to write this was XD**


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